Small headphones that don't hurt while wearing helmet?

[MattPie]

I bought a set of the Etymotic noise cancelling ear buds at Buy.com - but they were a waste of money...on several levels. First, there is not really any noise cancelling feature - just an attempt at snug fitting ear plugs, with the sound emitters in them.

While true, the ear plugs block something like 25dB, which if you read the fine print on a set of active (Bose and other electronic noise-canceling gear) they do not block as much sound out. Calling them noise-canceling is a bit of a misnomer, but that's OK because they do a better job.

Of course, they do need to fit properly. You did stick them all the way in, right? The 3 flanges should be in the ear canal, with just the plastic parts sticking out.

[dnat928]

Matt, I guess I have big ear holes...there was no way they were going to fit snugly. I actually already have a set of Sony earbuds with an inverted mushroom-shaped plug - they came with three sizes of plug...I use the largest plugs. They work quite well at blocking out noise and giving good sound quality. But since the Etymotic sold themselves as "noise cancelling", I wanted to give them a try. It became an expensive lesson/failure. Hard to believe that Buy.com would not refund my payment and never again reply. Must be a Nigerian company.

[snowprick]

I think its important to choose a good helmet earphone combination. The right earphone/speaker is not always good in the wrong helmet. Personally I avoid ear canal buds as they hurt my ears after a while and find the combination of Autocom speakers in an Arai helmet to be best. It pays to make some effort to get the speakers in exactly the right place. The Arai has lots of room in the ear cut-outs (unlike some other helmets) so finding the right spot should not be difficult. I also find the Arai to be very quiet so I dont need ear plugs. I have eight helmets of different manufacture and find the Arai / Autocom works best for me. Good luck.